News GTA IV PC exclusively on Games for Windows

Yeah, I want Starcraft 2 as well. A lot, in fact. But it doesn't stop me from wanting to see what comes of Red Alert 3, given how many hours I sunk into multiplayer in the original.

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Lepermessiah:

Not sure about 'most' GTA fans, but I thought San An was fairly bland and aside from a few interesting ideas, uninspired.

 

blizzard doesnt need drm for its people to buy its products.

Good games SELL

BAD games come with drm

mass effect was overated
spore was never good

we shall see about RA 3

 

Am i the only one that see's a positive thing about this, that a X360 control should be predefined for the game, so no worries and hassle in setting up dam controllers.

 

The PC platform needs a good standard.

The PC has up until now been a heap of different technologies mixed together. Consoles are predefined, easier to use and they have the "just works" factor.

Microsoft can really show the good side here if they are serious about the Games For Windows brand and Games For Windows Live system. Granted some problems in the start I'm sure they will fix it.
The PC needs a strong standard so it can be more like a console. We need a unified way to play online games. And yes many see this as being VALVe's Steam, but Microsoft can't embrace a platform like Steam where VALVe has all the control. And it's not their product either. Steam is a stand-alone system and always will be. I just don't see why GTA IV can't be on Steam. Yes the game uses Games For Windows Live, so what? That's just a framework. Not a online marketplace like Steam is. Steam has plentiful of games that only uses Steam for the proof of purchase part and not for the online community and server browser. Call of Duty 4 anyone?

 

Agree and then combine it with Starcraft written on the box and you get guaranteed sales no matter what.

RROD
sorry, was too hard to resist.

So far Games for Windows has been nothing more than words written on the box, will be interesting to see if they actually manage to make something positive out of it.

 

PC has a very good standard, there's no need for MS to come and mess it up.

every game i put onto my PC just works. no hassle at all. just like consoles, you need to upgrade. you won't be able to play PS3 games in PS2 system.

 

Well it's time to make that upgrade to Vista an with the SP1 out the performance is still not that good with game's . But with the Games for Windows Live now being FREE, Maximum PC said on there Pod Cast an here on Bit-tech.net so that's not a bad start for Games for Windows.

 

No there's no good standard. Each game is different and has it's own quirks. games for consoles have to follow tight specs and behave the same when it comes to the community and server browser part. Every game has it's own kind of copy-protection (please stop using "DRM", it's just a acronym they invented to make it sound less bad), installation program etc.

Games For Windows Live provides for a XBOX like experience on PCs. A unified community and server browser system for all it's games. Yes this is the same as what Steam provides, but you have to understand that Microsoft is the only one to really push forward a standard here.

 

and then what? Microsoft charging everyone for the Games for Windows Live?

competition is good, and it should be encouraged. the only reason games seems to work very well is that consoles have a set spec, if there were PS3-lite, PS3-enthusiastic and PS3-mainstream. there'd be all the confusion and complains.

besides, Games for Windows Live browser sucks, Halo 2 PC failed in so many ways it's not even worth the disk its burnt on. Steam is very good, but it doesn't mean every game should use it. would you be happy if World in Conflict uses Steam's browser?

as for DRM, Stardock is in the right direction, though no standard required, just need more common sense.

 

Not true, unless you can please tell me how bit-tech benefits from Orange Box game sales? Journalism is a seperate industry from game development, shure there's the occasional bribe but we can historically see what happens to journalist that are a little bit shady, ie: the ign nintendo editor who nearly lost his job. And hype effecting the score, i think not. bit-tech has run several articles on games that where great, that got great reviews, yet no one's ever heard of them, "beyond good and evil" for example. As an oposite example I offer "stalker: clear skies" which was tremendously hyped and recived a 6 out of 10 or something, not just here but at IGN, 1up and other notable companies. GTA 4 got 10/10's across the board because it broke all sorts of boundries, and still maintained the depth and feel of prior games. Shure people where disapointed by the loss of airplanes and the gang controll abilities, along with the questionable RPG elements from SA. But many more people welcomed these losses, thus it got a just review of 10/10 wich doesn't haveto reflect every single individual.

FYI- I'm still waiting for a response from you here

http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=157682

 

And what about local area network functionality?